As anticipation builds over the imminent release of two major reports that could seal the fate of Keystone XL pipeline, Gary Doer, Canada’s ambassador to the United States, remains confident the long-delayed project is primed for presidential approval.

“I think the president is going to make the decision on the basis of science and facts, and if he does that, that means it goes ahead,” the former Manitoba premier said in an interview Thursday.

CNN reported that the final environmental impact review will likely to be announced on Friday afternoon, citing two senior administration officials and another unidentified source familiar with the timing.

Once the results are out, eight U.S. agencies will examine them, then send their observations to Secretary of State John Kerry. President Barack Obama would then decide whether or not to approve the pipeline.

A final decision may not come for several months, but this study is seen as a critical step in determining whether the project will go ahead.

The science and facts are expected to tilt in favour of the Alberta-to-Texas oil pipeline with the conclusion of a review by the U.S. State Department’s inspector general into allegations of conflicts of interest and the release of a final environmental impact statement.

While little talked about, Doer said the inspector general’s report is “crucial” and a finding of conflict of interest would have serious implications for the proposed project.

But Doer, who has led Canada’s efforts to win a permit for the $7-billion project that would open the Gulf Coast as a market for Canadian oil, believes “the allegations will fall like a house of cards.”

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The review was launched after KXL opponent Friends of the Earth alleged that London-based Environmental Resources Management (ERM), which the state department hired to assess the impact of the pipeline, is in conflict of interest with Keystone’s owner TransCanada Corp. and other oil companies.

It’s the second time the inspector general has investigated allegations made by Keystone XL opponents. The first set, that TransCanada exercised improper influence, was dismissed in February, 2012.

Like many closely watching the file, Doer believes the environmental impact statement will come out in Keystone XL’s favour.

“The State Department report is close to ready and close to being released and … [will likely] re-confirm that oil coming down from Canada is not staying in the ground [if Keystone is not built], as the environmental industry has alleged, and that it’s coming down on rail with higher cost, higher risk, and 8% higher [greenhouse gasses]. We believe both those elements will be in the report,” Doer said.

The ambassador, appointed in October 2009, said the reports would bolster an already-strong case for the pipeline as it enters the final national interest determination phase, which involves final say by President Barack Obama.

Doer believes the pipeline will pass the president’s new climate change test because it won’t lead to higher greenhouse gas emissions.

Some argue the president could continue to delay approval of the project to avoid angering environmental organizations that are part of his political base.

Doer said the politics of Keystone are more complicated.

“Many senators who are up for re-election in 2014 are very pro energy and jobs,” he said. “So, you can’t just interpret politics from San Francisco and New York. If you look at where the pipeline is going, and where the pipeline is manufactured in Arkansas, and the refineries in Texas and Louisiana, you can understand the desire for Democratic senators to have this approved.”

The president didn’t tip his hand during his State of the Union speech Tuesday on his plans for the project, despite being pushed by the environmental left to take a hard line against Keystone XL and energy from fossil fuels.

Doer said environmental organizations have been making a lot of “noise,” but questioned their political clout since they are failing to sway the public, which remains two-to-one in favour; both houses of Congress that are also largely in favour; as well as states traversed by the pipeline, which are all in favour.

“Does the president go with blue collar workers, or does he go with the hedge fund manager in San Francisco?” Doer asked, taking a shot at Tom Steyer, the former hedge fund billionaire that has been funding inflammatory commercials against Keystone XL, including one aired this week that accused Prime Minister Stephen Harper of pushing Keystone XL so Canadian oil can go to China. Doer called the claim “absurd,” since it’s cheaper and far more convenient for the Chinese to ship Canadian oil to China from the much-closer West Coast of Canada.

“Does he go with rail, which he can’t approve, or pipelines, which he can approve? Does he goes with higher GHGs on rail, or lower GHGs on pipelines?”